Railroad-spike



(No Model.)

- W. G'OLDIE.

' RAILROAD SPIKE. No. 278,428. Patented May 29,1883.

l UNITED STATES PATENT I OFF CE,

WILLIAM GOLDIE, or west BAY UllY, MICHIGAN.

RAILROAD-SPIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 278,428, dated May 29, 1883. Application filed August 2, 1882. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM GOLDIE, of West Bay (lity,in thecounty of Bay and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Spikes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

The nature of this invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in spikes for securing railwaysrails to the 'ties. The spikes usually employed for this purpose are rectangular in form, and with parallel sides, presenting the same area in cross-section from the head of the bevels that form the point to the part forming the head. These, as they are driven, out the fibers of thetimber with their points, and the bevel sides of the point, as the spikes are forced into the ties, compress the cut ends of the fibers downwardly and in a lateral direction until the body of the spike enters the aperture thus formed. Thepressure of the fibers against the two opposite sides of the spikeholds it in position; but. in many kinds of soft timber the fibers are'not sufficie'ntly compressed to holdthe spike firmly, and it may be easily forced back by the wedging action of the carwheels upon the rails, and thus allow the rails to spread in amanner that is dangerous.

The object of my invention is to provide a railway-spike for the purposes described that may be easily driven, will more thoroughly compact the timber,tand hence be much more securely held in place. In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, Figure 1 is a view ot'my improved spike in side elevation, and it will be seen that it resembles a combination of two spikes of the ordinary construction and of different sizes, with the head of the a smaller one removed, and the point of the larger one centrally welded to the upper end of the smaller, thus practically forming a spike M with two points--the lower for cutting the timber, and the upper point for compressing it. The point of the smaller one may for use in hard wood be formed of the usual wedge shape, angled on only two sides; but for use in ting-edges, which sever the fibers of the timher with a shearing out. Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of the lance-point parallel with the dotted lines in Fig. 1. The other two sides of my spike, being at right angles to those shown, are parallel their entire length from the bevel to the head.

It will be seen that by this mode of construction a spike is produced which in driving will do the leastpossibleinjury to the tie; that will drive straight in the line in which it is started, being neither unduly forced from or toward the rail, each angle on one side being opposed by another one on the opposite side; that the compression of the ends of the fibers by the second point will render the timber exceedingly dense and hard atthe place where the-greatest resistance is required, and that about twenty per cent of the ironis saved over that required to construct the spike in ordinary use.

The principles involved in myinvention are,

first, that timber cannot be successfully cut and compressed bythe same instrument and at the same time; and, secondly, that in soft, brittle timber the fibers are better to be severed by a shearing cut, and but little timber cut on the same plane at the same time. I carry out the first principle by using two points-one for cutting and the other for compressing-and the second principle by usinga lancepoint. It will be observed that the pressure resulting from driving my spike is all applied substantially to the end grain of the timber.

I am aware there have been spikes made with the portion immediately under the head of larger area in crosssection than the part below; but in all cases the larger portion is not adapted or intended to enter the timber to any appreciable extent, being used simply as a. bearing for the rail, and consequently cannot possibly accomplish the object I do.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent isi 1. A rectangular spike the. body of which has parallel sides for a portion of its length,

butwhieh, pr0longed,fiually merges bya short; I point, substantially as and for the purposes bevel or taper into a supplemental body hav- I specified. ing also parallel sides, but of greably recluced I areaincross-section,substantiallyasdescribed. H GOLDIE' 2. In a railroad-spike wherein the lower Witnesses: portion is of less area in cross-section than Hrs. SPRAGUE,

the upper part; below thehead, a lance-shaped l T. SHERMAN. 

